It’s funny how birds you’ve only seen in a guide book can seem like they’re ’supposed to be’ a very different size than they actually are! I always think shore birds are going to be bigger than they actually are. The first time I saw a willet it was enchantingly small.
I heard the Jay before I saw it and honestly thought it was some kind of hawk 🤣 Then I saw this big bird and was like, "That's a blue Jay???" I thought they were, like... Finch size or something. My cat was unimpressed, but I was jazzed about it!
I was surprised how big Black-crowned night heron is, back when I saw them for the first time in Zoo. Its my favorite bird in the Wingspan board game, and I guess with their big head and the short neck, I was expected a smallish bird. Boy was I wrong.
I saw one recently at Carolina Beach, and only got a clumsy picture of it, but what a magnificent bird.
A little bigger than a cardinal, about half the size of a crow. sounds like a rusty gate when arguing.
sounds like a rusty gate when arguing
Hence why they are my favorite!* 💙
*(OK, tied with crows)
Takes the whole bird to make that sound. They have to bob up and down and move their wings and flick their tails to do it. Seems to be an effective way to settle disputes though.
Well, they are crows, after all.
Alolan Crow
I didn't know that! That makes more sense about the size and sound. The more you know!
Jackdawius unidanius
You never asked me.
For most of my life, I thought blue scrubs were blue jays. 🤷🏻♂️
I just looked it up and I 100% pictured blue jays looking like that. I thought they'd be cute and little 🤣
